CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF SUSCEPTIBILITY WEIGHTED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING AMONG PATIENTS WITH NEUROGICAL DISORDERS AT 3T MRI– A HOSPITAL BASED CROSS -SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) images are generated from two-dimensional Gradient echo pulse sequence (GRE) to three dimensional sequences which allows thinner slices and smaller voxels with increased spatial resolution. SWI is sensitive to substances that distort the local magnetic field (such as calcium and iron), in which the phase images can differentiate. In SWI, magnitude and phase images are independently processed and can also be combined for diagnostic use. SWI is helpful in the setting of trauma and acute neurologic presentations such as stroke & cerebral venous thrombosis, intraparenchymal hemorrhage, neurological infections, aneurysms, vascular malformations, developmental venous anomaly, cerebral microbleeds, intracranial calcifications, neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. The main objective of this study is to understand the uses of SWI as an addition to the conventional MRI sequences in concluding the final diagnosis.